Chapter 127

I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander

Platt felt an indescribable fear from Daniel's appearance as he urged him to taste the drink.

For a spy, the most frightening thing was having their intentions seen through by the other party.

'But how...'

How could Daniel Steiner know that there was poison in the whiskey?

'Was my acting clumsy?'

That wasn't it.

Platt is an experienced spy.

He had never had his identity exposed even while working as an informant for imperial nobles.

So even Daniel Steiner shouldn't have noticed anything strange.

There might be someone in the Palentia branch cooperating with Daniel Steiner.

If information had leaked in the middle because of that, Daniel Steiner's current words and actions would be more than understandable.

'Which bastard...!'

Platt racked his brains in despair, but no particular person came to mind.

To begin with, it was the members of the Palentia branch who were doing spy work in the capital, the heart of the empire.

These were people who could hide their true intentions as much as they wanted, so it was impossible to predict who the traitor might be.

'Damn it...'

Platt gritted his teeth and grasped the glass.

'To think that trying to assassinate Daniel Steiner would be a mistake.'

Looking down at the golden whiskey swirling in the glass, Platt smiled bitterly.

Although ricin wasn't an instant-acting poison, there was no antidote, so drinking it would be tantamount to becoming terminally ill.

There was also the option of not drinking it and begging Daniel Steiner for his life, but that wasn't a choice for Platt, who had sworn loyalty to the Allied Nations.

'My life as a spy, long or short, ends today.'

Platt slowly raised his head to look at Daniel Steiner.

Staring into those pitch-black eyes like an abyss, Platt understood Daniel's intentions.

Right now, Daniel Steiner was urging him.

If he didn't want to die from that poison, he should confess the truth and swear allegiance.

'I will never submit to you.'

Filled with anger and sadness, Platt finally decided to die for the Allied Nations.

After taking a deep breath, Platt slowly raised the glass containing death.

Watching this, Daniel thought.

'...Why is he acting like that?'

He had given up the first glass because the other had brought such expensive alcohol.

But the other person had hesitated as if seeing his life flash before his eyes, and now was making an expression like some kind of martyr.

'Was his claim of liking alcohol a lie?'

If that was the case, it was more than understandable.

This whiskey had quite a high alcohol content.

'It must be scary to drink it straight without adding ice to lower the alcohol content. If he can't drink alcohol, he could just say so, but he's insisting on putting on airs.'

Sighing, Daniel grabbed Platt's wrist as he was bringing the glass to his lips.

Thanks to this, Platt's shoulders twitched.

He had been prepared to die, but was startled when Daniel suddenly stopped him.

"...What are you doing?"

"Just. You don't seem able to drink alcohol, so I'm trying to stop you."

"Even if you show mercy like this, my heart won't change. I'm always prepared to die."

It's just drinking high-proof whiskey, yet he's talking about death. His bravado is impressive, Daniel thought as he chuckled and played along.

"If you die like that, who will know?"

"My homeland..."

"Cut the nonsense and just relay a message to the person who told you to give me this whiskey gift. Tell them not to send me such bribes again."

Someone who can't even drink properly wouldn't have selected a top-quality whiskey as a gift.

He said this thinking there must be someone else who chose the gift.

On the other hand, to Platt, Daniel's words sounded like, "Tell your superior not to attempt such a clumsy assassination."

Swallowing dryly, Platt slowly lowered the glass he was holding.

"...Are you sparing my life even though you know everything?"

The dumbfounded expression was so serious that Daniel couldn't help but laugh.

Thinking this person was quite unique, Daniel nodded with satisfaction.

"On a day like today, if someone dies, it would be inauspicious. So take this whiskey home and..."

After thinking for a moment about what would be good, Daniel snapped his fingers.

"That's right. Give it to the friend who told you to gift this to me. That friend probably knows the value of this alcohol well."

Thanks to Daniel calmly suggesting suicide, Platt felt the hair all over his body stand on end.

However, unable to refuse, Platt managed to nod with difficulty.

Seeing this, Daniel lightly patted Platt's shoulder.

"Have a good day. Don't bother with lies that will be exposed anyway."

Platt opened his mouth to answer but couldn't utter a word.

He felt an inexplicable awe towards Daniel Steiner, who not only spared the life of someone who came to assassinate him but also treated him normally.

'...Does this mean such an assassination attempt is like child's play to Daniel Steiner?'

As Platt exhaled dejectedly, Daniel turned and walked towards the center of the banquet hall.

He had heard Ernst calling him from there.

As Daniel approached, Ernst asked as if puzzled.

"Who were you talking to so intently?"

"Ah. Vihram, was it? He said he's in charge of repair work in the imperial household."

"Hmm. A low-ranking official? What business did he have approaching you?"

"He said he got a bottle of top-quality whiskey and wanted to gift it to me. He seems to have mistakenly thought he could get a promotion by impressing me."

"Oh! Top-quality whiskey, you say!"

Ernst looked towards the table where Daniel had just been, salivating.

Platt was quickly packing up the whiskey bottle and leaving the banquet hall as if he had urgent business.

Seeing this, Ernst smacked his lips and said,

"Tsk. Why didn't you just accept it? These days, whiskey prices are sky-high, and it's hard to get unless it's through military supply."

"The moment I accept a bribe, trouble will surely follow. I'm already getting dirty looks from various places, so it wouldn't be good to create an incident unnecessarily."

"Well, I guess living as a war hero isn't easy. It's a shame to let top-quality whiskey go, but there's plenty of good alcohol here too, so it's not bad. Most importantly..."

Ernst whistled, and a waiter approached and lowered his tray.

Ernst took two glasses of champagne from the tray and handed one to Daniel.

"Thanks to our generous Emperor, all the alcohol is free! How about it? Want to go all night with me today?"

"Department Head. Although I have a taste for drinking, I'm not really into drinking and merrymaking..."

Daniel stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth.

Ernst's pleading look was more burdensome than he had expected.

"...Did you perhaps have a fight with your wife recently?"

Nod.

"So you want to come home as late as possible because you'll get an earful if you go home early?"

Nod nod.

"And you're trying to use me as a shield because if you say you were late drinking alone, there won't be breakfast the next morning?"

Nod nod nod.

Seeing the nods filled with the woes of a married man, Daniel pondered for a moment before speaking.

"...Alright. When else would we drink to our heart's content if not on a day like today?"

At this, Ernst burst into laughter and patted Daniel's back.

"Thank you! Thanks! You really are my best subordinate! Oh, right! There are quite a few generals who want to see you, so take this opportunity to expand your network! I'll introduce you to all of them!"

Daniel sighed and nodded, and Ernst raised his hand and shouted loudly.

"Waiter! On such a joyous day, we can't run out of alcohol! If we run short of drinks, wouldn't that be disgracing His Majesty the Emperor's face? So hurry and bring more alcohol!"

It seemed that, no matter what, it would be difficult to go home early today.

Meanwhile, in the reception room of the textile factory where the Palentia branch was located, they were busy preparing to receive a guest.

"Didn't I tell you to prepare the most expensive refreshments? Not this cheap stuff! The businessman coming here is a big shot. We need to secure proper investment this time!"

Following Branch Head Theobalt's orders, spies disguised as employees moved in perfect unison.

Theobalt watched his subordinates and folded his arms.

'We need to secure proper investment this time to maintain the Palentia branch for a long time.'

Although the Palentia branch basically received funding from the Allied Nations, due to its location in the heart of the empire, they couldn't receive large sums of money at once.

The larger the scale of the funds, the higher the probability of getting caught in the empire's surveillance network.

So, a certain portion of the intelligence activity funds were self-sufficient within the Palentia branch.

This meant that operating the textile factory wasn't just for disguise.

They were running the Palentia branch based on the factory's profits.

Recently, those profits had been declining, which was worrying, but timely, someone appeared who wanted to invest in the textile factory.

'I heard he's a businessman who has recently come into the spotlight...'

Before Daniel Steiner's total war speech, that is, when anti-war sentiment was dominant and anti-war protests were boiling over, this person had heavily invested in the military industry.

In a situation where he had invested almost all his money in the military industry, Daniel Steiner's total war speech broke out, and thanks to that, the businessman reportedly reaped profits dozens of times his investment.

After making an enormous amount of money, he lay low for a while, but recently started diversifying his investments.

One of those diversifications was the textile factory where the Palentia branch was located.

Unable to miss such an opportunity, Theobalt had personally invited this businessman.

It was best to hold a business presentation to secure as much investment as possible.

'Five minutes left.'

As he was gauging the time looking at the wall clock, static sounded from the radio he was carrying.

Startled, Theobalt picked up the radio and heard a familiar voice from the other end.

─ This is Blue Wall. The operation has failed. Daniel Steiner noticed my identity.

The codename Blue Wall referred to Platt.

─ I plan to go into hiding while concealing my identity for the time being. Please be careful too, Branch Head. There's a possibility that Daniel Steiner knows the branch's identity. I'll explain in detail when I have the chance later.

Having conveyed his message clearly, Platt cut off the radio.

'Daniel Steiner knows the branch's identity?'

The flustered Theobalt pressed the transmit button.

"Blue Wall? Answer me! What does that mean?"

However, there was no response.

It seemed he had changed the radio frequency entirely, considering the possibility of wiretapping.

'There's no way Daniel Steiner could know the branch's identity. Lucie? No. That child hasn't completely betrayed the Allied Nations yet. She wouldn't have said anything about the branch.'

Just as Theobalt thought Platt must have misunderstood something, one of his subordinates approached.

"The investor is arriving."

"...I see."

For now, securing the investment was the priority.

Theobalt changed the radio frequency and put it in his pocket, then adjusted his clothes.

After waiting for a moment, the door of the reception room opened, and a man wearing an expensive vest entered.

The dark-skinned man was wearing a fedora on his head and a monocle.

It wasn't common to see a successful black businessman in this era.

As Theobalt was inwardly marveling, the man strode forward.

With a dignified, not frivolous, gait, the man approached Theobalt and quietly extended his hand.

He was exuding an aura that somehow made it impossible to refuse the handshake.

After hesitating for a moment, Theobalt relaxed his stiff body and grasped the man's hand.

"I'm Belter, who runs the textile factory."

Hearing Theobalt's alias, the man raised his head with a gentle smile.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm operating several businesses..."

The man narrowed his eyes sharply and continued in a monotone voice.

"My name is Hamtal."